Bluewater Wind Delaware LLC, a subsidiary of Babcock & Brown, has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Delmarva Power for up to 200 MW of power from an offshore wind farm that will be built 11.5 miles off the coast of Rehoboth Beach in Delaware.

"This contract is a significant step toward developing Delaware's first offshore wind farm, which will almost certainly be the first offshore wind farm in the country," says Hunter Armistead, head of Babcock & Brown's North American energy group. "This offshore wind farm will harness the strong winds off the coast of Delaware to bring clean and renewable energy, stable power rates and new jobs to the area."

Delmarva Power has agreed to purchase 200 MW of the power produced by the wind farm, which is expected to have an output of up to 600 MW. Bluewater Wind will determine the final size of the wind farm within two years, during which time the company will seek additional buyers of power.

In addition to its contract with Delmarva Power, Bluewater Wind has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Delaware Electric Municipal Corp. for the sale of approximately 100,000 MWh to 150,000 MWh of power and 17 MW of capacity to its nine municipal members.